one of my favorite photographs of all time.

One of my favorite photographs of all time is this one by Slim Aarons.

In it, C.Z. Guest is photographed along with her son at their Palm Beach estate in 1955. If ever a photo exuded a sense of opulence, I think this one does. The huge, marble-decked swimming pool, the manicured lawn with views of the ocean beyond. CZ with her perfectly coiffed hair—so chic with those long slim gams. Those hard shadows letting us know it's a bright sunny optimistic day in paradise. Everything is so symmetrical. Oddly, if it wasn't for the dog roaming into the shot—who knows if it would be as beautiful. 

Slim Aaron's famous photograph of C.Z. Guest in 1955. If opulence was ever captured in a more elegant, and yet casual way, I've yet to see it.

Some of the best editorial photos are created when something unexpected and spontaneous happens. It's those "REAL" moments that create the uncontrived images that we have a desire to look at over and over. 

A few years ago we photographed C.Z.'s daughter Cornelia Guest for Genlux's series called 'The American Socialite.' Cornelia was the 80s Debutante of the Decade. She ran with the likes of Halston, Andy Warhol, Liza Minnelli and the Studio 54 gang right about the time the club closed. Yes, my friends, she has stories. She was also only about 16 at the time, so who knows where C.Z. thought little Cornelia was.  

The beautiful Cornelia Guest for Genlux's 'American Socialite' story photographed by BrakhaX2 in our Fall 2012 issue. I'm confident this is the first (and last) time she's ever held an iron. Notice her stable grip on that handle. 

Cornelia Guest is passionate about two things. Her dogs. And her animal-free collection of handbags—some of the nicest designs on the market. Touch 'em and you'd swear they were leather. Here, she's wearing a pink Valentino couture gown, $23,000, in the Genlux Fall 2012 issue. 

Tomorrow we're shooting our modern-day version of C.Z. Guest here in Beverly Hills. Our socialite is Carla Sands. A beautiful statuesque woman known for her style and philanthropy. I'll fill you in later on the shoot.

The other day I said that I'd share our new cover with you. As passion and photographer would have it, we're still in retouching—so it will have to wait a day. Or two. 

model swept away in hurricane...well, almost

I'm shooting downtown today. The photographer is Martin Kunert.

Martin and I've shot a few times together. One, a really nice studio shoot that involved sheets of brushed aluminum. The other was a shoot in New York that I didn't attend. Martin decided it was a good idea to shoot on the streets of New York—the same day that Hurricane Sandy was scheduled to pour through. His reason? Nobody would be on the street. Well, he was right. By the time he was shooting, everyone was either safe at home or swept away down some drainpipe. Lucky for him, the model didn't blow away in the storm. Well, actually, that might have made a really cool YouTube video. Can you picture it? 

There's a good reason there's not a soul in sight. Because this was the day that Hurricane Sandy came roaring through New York. How Martin convinced the model and entire crew to make their way downtown is anyone's guess. 

Martin Kunert's first editorial shoot for Genlux. Come to think of it, it may have been his first fashion editorial shoot, ever. I love shooting with new people all the time. Genlux is a platform for helping launch creative careers.  

Today we're shooting again in his downtown loft space. I love the energy of coming down here. Of getting in the freight elevator and not knowing how to use it. Of not closing the gate properly and having people yell at me from three stories down. Wait, what was it I loved about downtown? Oh, yeah, the energy. I love the creative energy of downtown. 

As soon as I walk into the studio, I LOVE what Martin has created. He's draped the entire studio in plastic—from ceiling to floor. These huge, loose sheets of thin plastic that softly veil everything they cover in a glowing light. The plastic is just opaque enough to hide what's behind it—but just translucent enough to create a glow when lit. I love the spontaneous nature of the set. If you want to create images that have life to them, interject elements that live through kinetic energy. You know, things like wind, water, rain, fire, clouds, soft fabrics, falling or thrown objects, etc.  

Our model is Maggi from Vision Models. She's tall, almost 5' 11" and has a great face. There's just one thing about her that I'd like to change, but we can do that in post. (No! I'm not going to tell you)!

Here is our stunning model for the day! Maggi from Vision Models. We haven't used Vision for a while but they have some really great girls. 

We have a British Dandy fashion theme for today's shoot. So the inspiration is super colorful, busy and masculine. Lots of prints and patterns. Our stylist for this challenge is Lisa Cera. Lisa is very much a New Yorker, but she gets the 60s British concept. Fitting, since this is going in our special BritWeek issue.

On set today are some of my favorite glam squad peeps. Helen Robertson from Celestine is on makeup; and Robert Steinken from CloutierRemix, who seems to be doing all of our shoots lately, is on hair. When I got the call sheet yesterday, Martin had another makeup artist listed that I'm not so fond of (shame on Martin for not consulting me first)—so I contacted the agency and made the ol' switcheroo. When finessing through the preciousness of the creative process, it's best to work with the people you click with. 

Maggi from Vision on our shoot today. Hey wait, I just noticed that squiggly mark on her finger. Has the sensor on my iPhone bit the dust? Look, it's also on the photo below. But it's moving... aaaghhh!!!

Martin Kunert behind the plastic. Hi Martin. Wave to the viewers...Oh, you are? 

Our super stylist Lisa Cera. She works hard and is always expressing how grateful she is to Genlux for helping her make contacts in LA. 

Here is Denise Bourne the manicurist who also happens to be Lisa Cera's sister. It's a two-fer. 

I'm happy we had Helen Robertson from Celestine on set today. She's awesome!! 

Robert Steinken is doing hair today. I'm really kind of getting sick of seeing him. He also does the hair for Robin Thicke and Paula Patton. Nope, he wouldn't give up any info. His lips were superglued shut. Robert did give me Paula's publicist info to see if we could shoot her. We love Robert!

Today I'm also editing the Lydia Hearst cover shoot. We have so many great shots. Too many great shots. I'll share some tomorrow. Maybe I'll get your vote on the final selection? 

okay, who let that guy in the party?

Genlux is known for throwing a good party. 

One thing people say is we have the most beautiful, well-dressed party crowd and why wouldn't we? We are the only fashion magazine out of Beverly Hills. 

The Genlux issue release party on the rooftop of the Luxe Hotel on Rodeo Drive. 322 guests (yes, we count 'em) packed under two tents and the event space. That's a giant 40 foot projection on another building of our cover. 

We were there to celebrate the release of our spring 2014 issue with Katheryn Winnick on the cover, hosted by, who else, Katheryn Winnick, herself. That's her below—fourth from left. See her cool hair. Courtesy of our fave hairstylist, Robert Steinken. Thanks, Robert.

Katheryn Winnick brought out her baseball team to help celebrate the Genlux party. That's her fourth from the left. Kidding about the baseball. They're just her buddies.

We always get asked how we get such great girls like Kristin Chenoweth, Emmy Rossum, Petra Nemcova, Jenna Elfman, Kathy Ireland, Maria Menounos, Erika Christensen, Brooke Burke, etc, etc. to host our parties. Simple: They get a cover—they host their issue release party. By getting a cover they also agree to letting us pick the photographer and the glam team (hair stylist, makeup artist, and manicurist) for their photo shoot. They also grant us full editing rights—meaning, I get to pick the final shots we use for the cover and inside story. The usually don't even get to see them until they're published. I say usually because there was one time I agreed to let them see the shots first. I will NEVER do that again. I'll tell you that story later. 

There are always a few people that I say, 'How did they get into the party?' And, after talking to them, (I try to make contact and find out who they know) I realize they probably crashed. We have a tight guest list at the door and everyone is confirmed through email, but they still have a way of slipping in. 

I'm lucky that our events at the Luxe are like Ron Popeil's turkey gadget—just set it and forget it. I have a team of peeps I heavily rely on to get things done. And they always come through. Name names? Okay. John Sugrue our events person, who also owns OCLA Events, is our star who knows how to get things done. And, sometimes, on a dime. Paul Palacios at Hint Water. Paul is one of those that says yes to me before I say hello. There's Svedka that always comes through. And for the red carpet area—step-and-repeat wall, lights, and the actual red carpet, there's none better than David Ayala at T-Rex Graphics. For security I always go to the man who not only looks the role, he comes well-dressed, Melvin Grace (323-352-4242).

Sometimes our events feature fashion presentations. For this event we showcased some gorgeous Carmen Steffens shoes and Nikki Rich fashion on our stunning Wilhelmina Models. We had Megan, Chanel, and Andie. Carmen Steffens shoes originated in Brazil and are headed up in this country by Mark and Leticia Willingham. 

Wilhelmina models Chanel Gray (left) and Andie Miller (right) modeling Carmen Steffens shoes.

Mark and Leticia Willingham, owners of Carmen Steffens in the United States.

The good will our events provide is amplified by the role that our public relations team plays. Steve Valentine and his team at The Valentine Group (especially Trisha Davis and Christopher Zermeño), not only man the red carpet at our events, they also make sure the press comes to cover so our Genlux photos are seen across the world. To see party pix click here.

Our PR team: The Valentine Group. That's the man himself, Steve Valentine on the right; and one of his superstar publicists Christopher Zermeño on the left. 

One of the highlights of our event (especially for those wearing 5-inch heels all night) was the beautiful comfy decor designed by Camerich, the home design store on Robertson. The owners are Stephen Bianchi and Michael Lin (that's the dynamic duo below). Thanks you guys!!

Michael Lin and Stephen Bianchi from Camerich on Robertson

bad, you anti-creative universe. bad

I woke up this morning to one of the those eyes-wide-open-staring-at-the-ceiling realizations: Wait, did I confirm hair and makeup for today's shoot?! 

It also dawns on me that hairstylist Robert Steinken's agent at CloutierRemix did email me yesterday saying Robert was unavail. With all the chaos of setting up for our Genlux event at the Luxe Hotel Rodeo Drive, I put our shoot on the back burner—and then, forgot to book another hair stylist. 

I call Amanda Eliasch, who we're shooting today, to explain the situation and ask if her favorite hair person, Angela Kalinowski, the one who does her hair all the time, is available. Amanda gives her a call. Good news! She's in. Whew! One down, one to go.  

I send one of those phishing texts to makeup artist Camille Clark to see, if maybe, she's on board. (No way can I let her know I messed up). Me: 'Hi Camille, are you on your way?' Camille: 'On my way where? I'm working today.' Okay, time to panic.

I contact the agencies and then call our photographer, Tracey Morris, to see who might be avail to do makeup. Tracey whispers that Amanda has gotten wind about the no makeup sitch and is getting upset. and quickly hangs up. Oh, great. It's only 10:00 and the anti-creative universe has decided to wreak havoc. 

When shooting "divas" of which Amanda (she'll be the first to admit it) is one; you CAN NOT give them a sliver of negativity or the whole shoot goes right down the toilet and the next thing you know, the grid goes down and when the grid goes down, suddenly you find yourself being punched in the stomach over a can of soup (Direct TV commercial reference). 

Tracey calls me back and lets me know that one of our favorite makeup artists, Su Han, is available. "That's the good news," Tracey says, "The bad news is she's an hour away." What choice do we have? Book her!!

At about 11:00, I pull into Amanda's house where we are shooting and quietly sneak through the front door—fully expecting some trouble to be brewing inside. It's eerily silent. Amanda pops down her stairs and seems to be happy. Really happy. She says I have to come upstairs and see the fashion. Apparently, Lisa Cera, the stylist, has scored some amazing fashion from Christian Dior, Balenciaga, Alexander Wang, Junya Watanabe, etc., and so, the potential storm, which is our Amanda Eliasch, has been calmed. Some of the fashion Lisa pulled is from the notoriously snobby Maxfields. They usually don't lend for shoots but Amanda is such the shopper over there, they pretty much said, 'Here, take this, take that, here, take the store.' Smart on their part, they know she'll buy whatever looks good on her.

Lisa also pulled gorgeous shoes from Carmen Steffens. Turns out another smart move. Amanda and Lisa Zane (Billy Zane's sister) both fall in love with the shoes and decide to buy those too. 

Amanda Eliasch's home. Her fourth since I've known her. In three years. She likes to move it. 

Then Amanda takes me to see what's in her garage. The door opens to a beautiful white Jaguar F-Type that Jag has lent us for the shoot. "We have it all day," Amanda says, adding, "They pick it up on Monday. It's beautiful isn't it—I want one. It's only a hundred grand." Me: Eye roll. Gee, only a hundred grand.

Jaguar was nice enough to lend us this beautiful F-Type convertible—for three hours. Are you kidding? Three hours? Next time I see this car it better be parked in my driveway for a week. 

Just when I think the storm has passed, like a monsoon, Sharon Harroun-Peirce, (who heads up BritWeek and helped arrange the Jaguar—one of her biggest sponsors) flies through the front door and has a look on her face like she's ready to kill somebody. My mind is racing. 'What did I do?' 'What did I do?' What did I do?' Sharon tells me that she's not mad at me, but that Amanda told Jaguar she wanted to keep the car until Monday, but no, Sharon's come over to let us know that Jaguar will be by at 1:00 to pick up the car. No exceptions. Okay, Sharon, no worries, they can pick it up, at um, 1.

Okay, so it's 12:30 now. Amanda is still in hair and makeup. The car needs to be positioned, lit and out of here at 1:00. I'm thinking there's no way. But I tell Sharon, "No problem." I jump in the car and position it on Amanda's beautifully manicured front lawn (Photo shoot rule number 23: Just do it. It's always easier to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission). Tracey and Robert Morris (Tracey's hubby, digi-tech, assistant, and all-round good guy) sets up the lights for Amanda to just walk in and snap a few shots. By some miracle, we get it done at 1:06. Jag picks up the car. And everybody is happy—especially Sharon. Right, Sharon? Sharon?

Four more setups and we get four more great shots of Amanda—one of which will be the cover of a special BritWeek edition of Genlux.

One thing I've learned after hundreds of fashion shoots: If you go with the flow, everything works out. The anti-creative universe will try to suck the life out of you, but remember, in the end, the creative universe always trumps all. 

Amanda Eliasch, our elegant fashion editor, author, photographer, filmmaker, and diva, in her home.